Morris Motors Limited, U.K.

Morris Motors Limited, U.K.

Morris was a British Motor Vehicle Manufacturing Company created in 1919, to take over the property of William Morris's WRM Motors Limited and continue manufacturing of the same vehicles. The company headquarters is located in Cowley, Oxfordshire, Longbridge, England.

While from 1952 it joined into larger company, the Morris name remained in use until 1984 when British Leyland's Austin Rover Group decided to focus on the more popular Austin trademark. Until 2014 Morris Minor, Morris Mini, Mini Cooper and Morris Oxford vehicles were produced with periodic growing in India by Hindustan Motors.

Part of Morris's manufacturing complex at Cowley, Oxford is now BMW Group Plant Oxford, head office of the MINI marque. The Morris brand name is presently owned by the China-based automotive company SAIC after being transferred from insolvent subsidiary Nanjing Automotive.

History

Previous History

WRM Motors Ltd starts in 1912 when bicycle manufacturer William Morris stimulated on from the sale, hire, and repair of cars to car built-up. A factory was launched in 1913 at former Oxford Military College at Cowley, Oxford, United Kingdom where Morris's first car, the 2-seat Morris Oxford "Bullnose" was assembled. Almost all the main equipments were purchased. In 1914 a coupe and van were joined to the line-up but the Bullnose chassis was too short and the 1018 cc engine too small to make a much-required 4-seat version of the car. White and Poppe, who produce the engine. In spite of the outbreak of the First World War the orders were uphold and, from mid-1915 a new larger car, the 2-seat and 4-seat Morris Cowley was appeared.

Inter-war years

After the war the Continental engine was no longer available so, Morris set for Hotchkiss of France to build a near-copy in their Coventry factory. This was used to power new models of the basic Cowley and more up-market Morris Oxford cars. The small car market was entered in 1928 with the Leonard Lord-designed Morris Minor using an 847cc engine from Morris's recently to get Wolseley Motors. The Minor was to offer the base for the MG Midgets. This timely extend into the small car market helped Morris through the financial tumble of the 1930s. At the 1934 London Motor Show the Minor was changed by the Morris Eight, a direct reply to the Ford Model Y and, even Leonard Lord's handiwork, greatly based on it.

A separate private company, Wolseley Aero Engines Limited, was then created to continue the establishment of his aviation interests. Lord Nuffield sold Morris Commercial Cars Limited in 1936, his commercial vehicle project, to Morris Motors.

Post-World War II production

After World War II, its Production restarted, with the pre-war eight and ten designs. The Eight was changed by what is completely the most popular Morris car since 1948, the Morris Minor designed by Alec Issigonis and reusing the small car name from 1928. The Ten was changed by a new 1948 Morris Oxford MO, styled like a larger version of the Minor. A later Morris Oxford (the 1956 Morris Oxford III) was the basis for the design of India's Hindustan Ambassador, which constant manufacturing until 2014.

BMC

The Nuffield Organization combined with its old rival the Austin Motor Company to form the British Motor Corporation (BMC) since 1952. Nuffield introduced the Morris, MG, Riley and Wolseley marques into the merger. Leonard Lord was in charge, which led to Austin's power of the organization. Badge-engineering was essential to BMC and for many years the many marques would be look on several families of similar vehicles.

British Leyland

The BMC get Jaguar to create British Motor Holdings (BMH) since 1966, which subsequently joined with Leyland Motors in 1968 to form the British Leyland Motor Corporation (BLMC), and afterward, in 1975, the nationalized British Leyland Limited (BL). The Cowley complex remained the second largest single facility in the BL empire (after Longbridge), but BL's history was an unquiet one. The Morris marque sustained to be used until the early 1980s on cars such as the Morris Marina. The history of William Morris's trade is commemorated in the Morris Motors Museum at the Oxford Bus Museum. Post-Morris cars to have been produced at Cowley include the Austin/MG Maestro, Austin/MG Montego, Rover 600, Rover 800 and (for a short period) the Rover 75.